Water Wizardry: A collection of tricks in which water is the chief agent

by Arthur Ainslie

THE HYDROSTATIC TUBE

This trick is one of the many masterpieces of Mr. David Devant, and I am greatly indebted to him for his permission to include a full description of it in this book and to give his method of working the trick.

It was Mr. Devant's custom to follow this trick with the "Wine and Water," and he had an object in doing so, for the preparations for the second trick assisted him in performing the first.

On a tray on the table were four tumblers, the second and fourth of which (counting from the performer's left hand) were inverted. Behind the glasses there was a large glass lamp chimney with a piece of paper tucked into one end, and a finger bowl, with two spouts, filled with water, and a long hat pin.

The effect of the trick—to the audience—was as follows. The performer, having shown that the tube was not prepared in any way, closed one end with a piece of paper (half the piece which had been tucked into the tube at the commencement of the trick). He then filled the tube with water and placed the other piece of paper on the top. He then removed his hand from the lower piece and the water remained in the tube. He explained that there was no trick about that, the pressure of the air kept the paper in its place and so prevented the water from rushing out.

He then removed the paper from the lower end of the tube and still the water remained inside it. Then he took the paper from the top of the tube, and still the water remained in the tube. Having replaced the papers he picked up the large hat pin and held the tube over the bowl. He pierced the upper paper with the pin and held it there for a moment. Directly he withdrew the pin with the paper impaled on it the water fell out of the tube into the bowl, carrying the lower paper with it. The performer then showed once more that the tube was free from preparation by rattling the pin inside it, and he at once went on with the "Wine and Water" trick, using the water in the finger-bowl for that trick.

And now for the explanation. Two small discs of glass which fitted over the ends of the tube were required. The ends of the tube were ground perfectly level and the glass discs were made with a "shoulder" (or sunk edge), so that when once they were placed on the ends of the tube they could not be moved laterally. The edges of these glass discs were also ground perfectly flat and were made to fit exactly on the ends of the tube.

One of the glass discs had a hole in the centre, and this hole was filled up, just before the commencement of the trick, with a little piece of moistened soap. If the soap were prepared too long beforehand it would become crumbly and dry; it has to be soft and damp.

The other glass disc was not prepared in any way. Before the commencement of the trick the disc with the hole in it was placed on the top of the fourth tumbler—and therefore to the performer's right. The other disc was laid on the top of the second tumbler in the row of four.

The piece of paper tucked into the glass chimney was half of a double sheet of note-paper. (Tear a double sheet from side to side.)

And now for the actual performance.

Begin by taking up the glass chimney, removing the paper, picking up the hat pin and rattling it inside the chimney—thus showing that it is not prepared in any way for the trick.

Put the chimney down, pick up the paper and tear it in halves. (The object of having half a double sheet is to enable the conjurer to tear it easily; the crease is ready for him.) The action of tearing the paper is proof that there is no trickery in the paper.

Place one piece of paper on the top of the fourth tumbler (and therefore over the disc with the hole in it). Dip the other piece of paper into the glass bowl, shake it a little, and lay it on the top of the second tumbler. Take the piece from the fourth tumbler, wet it in the same way, and replace it on the top of the fourth tumbler.

Thus both pieces of paper are now wet and are over the two glass discs. Pick up the piece of paper on the second tumbler, secretly taking with it the glass disc (which, of course, is under the paper) and place it on the top of the tube, taking great care not to let the glass disc "talk" against the top of the chimney; the audience must not hear the slightest "chink" of glass knocking against glass.

Now turn the tube over, holding the disc and paper in place, with the second, third and little fingers underneath the paper, which should be moulded round the end of the chimney. Fill the chimney with water, and see that it is really full. Put the bowl down and pick up the other paper, secretly getting the disc under it, and place the disc with the paper over it on the top of the chimney.

Mould the paper round the top of the chimney and turn the chimney over, thus bringing the glass disc with the hole in it at the bottom of the chimney. Press on the disc and then slightly relax the pressure; if it is firmly in place you will feel that it is "sucking" and you can go on to the first part of the mystery.

Take your hand away from the lower end and the paper will naturally remain in position. Then, holding the tube by the middle with the right hand, peel the paper away slowly from the bottom of the tube and put the paper between the lips for a moment while you take the top paper away. In doing this you make use of an excellent little piece of showmanship; you pretend to be very nervous.

The tube is now held perfectly still for a second or two, and as the audience know that it is full of water and cannot see that there is anything either at the top or bottom of the tube, the effect is very mysterious.

Put the paper which was on the top under the lower end, pressing it well round that end, and take the other piece from the lips and mould it firmly round the top. Then invert the chimney, thus bringing the disc with the hole in it to the top again. Again press the papers well round both ends of the chimney.

Remove the lower paper once more, and still the water remains in the chimney. At this point in the trick Mr. Devant had an excellent line of patter which I hope he will forgive me for giving away; it always brought a round of laughter. "Supported entirely by voluntary contributions."

Replace the paper on the lower end of the chimney, and pick up the hat pin. Place the pin in the top paper; of course, the pin passes through the little plug of soap in the glass disc. As you take the pin out again the air naturally gets in and the water begins to fall. (It will be understood, of course, that at this stage of the trick you hold the chimney over the bowl.) Directly you feel the water is moving put the pin back into its place; this is a very important "move."

The water rushes out, naturally taking the disc and paper at the lower end with it. The pin is sticking through the top paper and therefore through the top disc. Remove the pin, taking the disc and paper impaled on it, and push the paper off into the bowl; while you do this you can lift the first paper slightly out of the bowl, so that the top disc sinks to the bottom on the top of the one already there. Then remove both papers and hold up the bowl of water. All trace of the method you employed for bringing about this very mysterious effect is now concealed, for the glass discs cannot be seen at the bottom of the bowl. You pick up the pin and once more rattle it in the glass chimney to show that you have nothing inside it, and then you go on to the next trick.

I have heard conjurers say that if they get one good trick out of a book they have received excellent value for their money. If that be true—and I, for one, certainly think it is—then, thanks to Mr. Devant, purchasers of this book have no cause for complaint, for I know of no finer trick with water than "The Hydrostatic Tube."

One little helpful hint. When the conjurer is about to put the pin through the top paper he may have a slight difficulty in finding the exact place for it. A little stain on the plug of soap will help him to find the right place at once.

The trick needs a steady hand, and the conjurer must not know the meaning of "nerves," but if he will see that the discs fit the ends of the glass chimney perfectly and will carry out these directions he need have no fear of any mishap.